4 ms·

Anecdotal evidence, but no obese person I’ve ever talked to about this (including me) is unaware that changing their diet would lead to a reduction in their bod

Anecdotal evidence, but no obese person I’ve ever talked to about this (including me) is unaware that changing their diet would lead to a reduction in their bodyweight. Smokers also know that not smoking would improve their health significantly. Drug addicts know that drugs are extremely dangerous. Nobody is questioning that obesity can be undone through dietary approaches, just as it’s possible to quit harmful relationships with tobacco and drugs cold-turkey. The problem with these approaches is that they just don’t work at the population level. Obesity is massively costly to society and a burden on individuals. Rejecting effective treatments because they’re not natural, or involve invasive surgery, doesn’t make any sense to me if it means adults who would otherwise live their entire adult lives in ill health would have longer, happier lives with much lower medical costs.

jononomo 4y ago
People who are obese could switch to a diet of only red meat -- they would never feel hungry again, since such a diet is massively satiating and they would be free to utterly gorge themselves, and they would also not be obese, since a diet of only red meat is perfectly suited to human health and fitness.
- criddell 4y ago
  Feelings of hunger are not the only reason people eat.
  - jononomo 4y ago
    On the carnivore diet people are free to eat as much beef as they want for any reason other than hunger as well.
zamadatix 4y ago
I don’t think we need to be rejecting it as an option today but I also hope we don’t just settle on “oh that’s just how we deal with it” long term.
bobajeff 4y ago
I don't think gp's point is that surgery or pills are should never be considered. Just that as a nation we should look into the actual cause of obesity and try to address that instead of trying to find more ways to cope with our lifestyle. There is to a degree phycological reasons for our obesity issues but I think most of the country is just misinformed about what's healthy. I heard in a company meeting recently that we should avoid saturated fat and use more trans fats in our diet. I still see my mom pursue low fat options in most dairy products which usually means more sugar to compensate for taste. Many people still think that things like large quantities of grains, cereals and fruit juice are healthy and unharmful.

jononomo 4y ago

People who are obese could switch to a diet of only red meat -- they would never feel hungry again, since such a diet is massively satiating and they would be free to utterly gorge themselves, and they would also not be obese, since a diet of only red meat is perfectly suited to human health and fitness.

criddell 4y ago
Feelings of hunger are not the only reason people eat.
- jononomo 4y ago
  On the carnivore diet people are free to eat as much beef as they want for any reason other than hunger as well.

zamadatix 4y ago

I don’t think we need to be rejecting it as an option today but I also hope we don’t just settle on “oh that’s just how we deal with it” long term.

bobajeff 4y ago

I don't think gp's point is that surgery or pills are should never be considered. Just that as a nation we should look into the actual cause of obesity and try to address that instead of trying to find more ways to cope with our lifestyle. There is to a degree phycological reasons for our obesity issues but I think most of the country is just misinformed about what's healthy. I heard in a company meeting recently that we should avoid saturated fat and use more trans fats in our diet. I still see my mom pursue low fat options in most dairy products which usually means more sugar to compensate for taste. Many people still think that things like large quantities of grains, cereals and fruit juice are healthy and unharmful.